The present invention is directed generally toward fire starting assemblies and, more particularly, toward a portable fire starting assembly having easy lighting and long burning characteristics.
Outdoor recreational activities are common in today""s society. Such outdoor recreational activities include activities such as camping, fishing, hunting, sledding, and virtually any other activity that can be performed outdoors. Various of these activities, e.g., sledding, are not performed during the summer months when the weather is warm. Many individuals engage in such outdoor activities when the outdoor temperature is on the colder side. For example, the rifle deer season in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania typically occurs from late November to mid-December. At such times, the outdoor temperature can be fairly cold, potentially reaching frigid temperatures with and without factoring in wind chill. Also, the opening day of trout season in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania typically occurs in mid-April. At this time, the weather is often on the colder side, requiring individuals to take appropriate precautions to keep themselves warm. Even during the summer months, the temperature at night may drop considerably from the temperature during the daylight hours. This is especially true in the mountainous areas of the country where individuals typically go camping.
Many individuals engaging in outdoor activities in the colder months of the year will be become just that, cold. Unless these individuals can find a way to warm themselves, even if only for a short period of time, the fact that they are cold may cause them to cut short the outdoor activity in which they are engaging. At such times, many individuals desire to light a fire, such as a campfire, to warm themselves. However, campfires are fairly difficult to light, requiring an individual to take the time to gather wood and kindling, and also requires the individual to have on their person, or readily available, a flammable starting material in order to get the fire started. Further, simply gathering wood and kindling in general is not enough to build a campfire, as the wood and kindling must be sufficiently dry in order to burn properly. Since an individual by this time is normally already cold, he or she may not wish to take the time to search for and gather sufficiently dry wood and kindling, and simply forego in continuing to engage in the particular outdoor activity.
Even after searching for and gathering sufficiently dry burning materials, an individual may find it difficult or impossible to start a campfire due to windy conditions. The wind may continue to extinguish the fire before it has a chance to sufficiently burn and xe2x80x9ccatchxe2x80x9d. Thus, even though an individual has taken the time to gather the appropriate wood, kindling, etc., a windy day may simply prevent the individual from being able to light a fire for warmth. This can be particularly frustrating and, when faced with such problems, often cause an individual to simply quit the outdoor activity and return to a car, house, etc., where heat is available.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the above-mentioned problems.
A fire starting assembly is provided in accordance with the present invention for easily lighting and maintaining a fire in an outdoor environment. The inventive fire starting assembly includes, in its simplest form, a combustible container defining an interior, and intermixed layers of flammable and combustible materials in the container interior having first and second burning points, respectively. To provide oxygen for the fire, the container includes holes for admitting air into the container interior, thus fueling the fire within the container interior.
The first burning point of the flammable material is at a temperature less than the second burning point of the combustible material. The combustible container typically has a third burning point at a temperature between the first and second burning points.
In a preferred form, the combustible container includes a cardboard box having top, bottom and side surfaces, the flammable material includes shredded paper, and the combustible material includes elongate pieces of wood. The intermixed layers accordingly include intermixed layers of shredded paper and pieces of wood. The pieces of wood in each respective wood layer are preferably spaced from one another, with the shredded paper additionally provided in the spaces between the pieces of wood in the wood layers.
In one form, the elongate pieces of wood include spaced first and second ends, with the elongate pieces of wood oriented vertically in the container interior such that their first and second ends lie generally adjacent the container top and bottom surfaces, respectively.
In another form, the elongate pieces of wood are oriented in row and column format within the container interior, such that adjacent members in each row are spaced from one another and adjacent members in each column are spaced from one another.
In a further form, the shredded paper defines pores formed in between, and by, the shredded paper material, with the pores permitting air to flow therethrough for fueling the fire within the container interior.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fire starting assembly that is easy to light and long burning.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a fire starting assembly that is easy to light in windy conditions.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fire starting assembly that is easily transportable.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a fire starting assembly made completely of burnable material.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a fire starting assembly that gives off enough heat such that it may be utilized as a fire in and of itself.